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Altamas Kabir: Former Chief Justice of India
On July 19, 1948, Altamas Kabir, was born in Calcutta, West Bengal in a Bengali Muslim Family. His father, Jehangir Kabir, was a popular Congress politician and trade union leader in West Bengal. He started his career as lawyer in 1973. Thereafter, on August 6, 1990, he was chosen to serve as a permanent judge in the Calcutta High Court and then appointed as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. On September 9, 2005, he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of India. And finally, on September 29, 2012, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of India, and hold office until his retirement.
Early Life and Education
Justice Kabir born in Calcutta in 1948. For the early education, he attended the Calcutta Boys' School, and then the Mount Hermon School, Darjeeling. A teacher at Calcutta Boys' School encouraged him to pursue a profession in law after reading one of his argumentative pieces on societal concerns and their remedies. He studied law at the University of Calcutta in Kolkata after earning a degree in history from Presidency College. After completing the law degree, he registered as an advocate in 1973 and worked on the civil and criminal sides of the District Court and the Calcutta High Court.
Career
Justice Altamas Kabir began his legal career during the following time period −
Kabir practiced civil and criminal law in Kolkata at the district court and the Calcutta High Court after earning his M.A. and LL.B. from the University of Calcutta in 1973. On August 6, 1990, he was appointed a Calcutta High Court permanent judge.
On January 11, 2005, Kabir was appointed to the position of acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. The Calcutta High Court, the City Civil Court, and other courts in Kolkata are all said to have been computerized thanks to Kabir.
On January 3, 2005, he was appointed as the Jharkhand High Court's interim chief justice; on March 1, 2005, the appointment was made official. On September 9, 2005, he was appointed as a Justice of the Indian Supreme Court. He was appointed the 39th Chief Justice of India on September 29, 2012. On July 18, 2013, he retired from his position as CJI, having served for just over nine months.
He served as Chancellor of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Chairman of the General Council of the Gujarat National Law University, and Visitor of the National Law School of India University during his time as chief justice.
On January 14, 2010, he was named Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). The provision of legal services to transgender people was taken up as a new initiative of NALSA during his chairmanship, and a nationwide plan of action was adopted for execution by all State Legal Services Authorities.
Allegations
When Kabir was CJI in 2013, his sister Shukla Kabir Sinha (who was a practicing lawyer and later became judge of the Calcutta High Court) and Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya of the Gujarat High Court were involved in a dispute. Bhattacharya stated in a letter to the president, the prime minister, and CJI Kabir that Kabir had prevented Bhattacharya from being elevated to the Supreme Court in his capacity as chief judge and head of the Supreme Court collegium. As a member of the Calcutta High Court's collegium in 2010, Bhattacharya said that the cause was his disagreement to the nomination of Shukla Kabir Sinha to the bench of that court.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Altamas Kabir |
| Date of Birth | 19th July 1948 |
| Alma Mater | University of Calcutta, Kolkata |
| Official Tenure | 29 September 2012 – 18 July 2013 |
| Preceded | S. H. Kapadia |
| Succeeded by | P. Sathasivam |
| As Judge | Judge of the Calcutta High Court Judge of the Jharkand High Court (as Chief Justice) Judge of the Supreme Court of India Chief Justice of India |
Notable Judgements
The notable judgments are −
The Domestic Violence Act of 2005 was expanded by Justice Kabir in Sandhya Manoj Wankhade v. Manoj Bhimrao Wankhade to cover assault by female relatives. The Act did not specifically recognize women as domestic violence perpetrators.
Prashant Bhushan said that at least sixteen Chief Justices of the Supreme Court were corrupt in an interview with Tehelka magazine in 2009. Justice Kabir declared that Bhushan's words at least appeared to amount to contempt of court and he was put under investigation. The Supreme Court is presently deliberating the matter.
Justice Kabir also took part in a well-known case involving a suspect in the infamous Israeli bombing. The accused who was being held unlawfully has not yet had a charge sheet filed against him by the police. Justice Kabir criticized the lower Court for the procedural errors and granted the accused statutory bail.
FAQs
Q1. Who had appointed Altamas Kabir as the chief justice of India?
Ans. Former President Pranab Mukerjee was the one who appointed Altamas Kabir as the Chief Justice of India.
Q2. Before being appointed as judge, in which court was Justice Altamas Kabir practicing law?
Ans. Before being appointed as judge, justice Altamas Kabir was practicing law at District and High Court of Calcutta.
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